Tag: Romania

January 7, 2018 – USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) arrived in Constanta, Romania, Jan. 7 for a scheduled port visit. Constanta is the first port visit for Fort McHenry, which deployed from its homeport of Mayport, Florida, Dec. 16, 2018. During the time in the Black Sea region, Fort McHenry is being shadowed by Russian frigate Pytliviy. “The Sailors and Marines of Fort McHenry have a great opportunity to experience a historic city,” said Cmdr. Steve Schmidt, commanding officer of Fort McHenry. “We stand together with our Romanian allies and partners…

September 22, 2018 – The commissioning of Australia’s new icebreaker reached a key milestone this week, with the vessel being floated in Romania. It took two days to pump the equivalent of 50 Olympic swimming pools of water into the dry dock where the RSV Nuyina is being built. Under the close supervision of marine engineers, the vessel was successfully floated and transferred into the adjacent wet dock. Final construction of the Nuyina will be completed in the wet dock before the vessel is transferred to its home port of…

September 10, 2018 – USNS Carson City (T-EPF 7) departed the Black Sea Aug. 30 after conducting various operations in the area. Carson City entered the Black Sea Aug. 15 after transiting the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits. “While in the Black Sea, we did what Carson City does best,” said Ship’s Capt. Jonathan Keffer, civilian master of Carson City. “We provided rapid transport of military equipment and personnel to new ports. We’re in the business of fast transport and top-notch hospitality as we get our passengers and cargo to their…

Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2018 kicked off with participating nations attending a pre-sail conference at Hotel Amberton Klaipeda on June 1. BALTOPS is an annual joint, multinational maritime-focused exercise scheduled for June 1-15, 2018. It is designed to improve training value for participants enhance flexibility and interoperability, and demonstrate resolve among allied and partner forces in defending the Baltic Sea region. The exercise will involve maritime, ground, and air forces so as to strengthen combined response capabilities necessary to ensure regional stability. Participating nations in BALTOPS include Belgium, Denmark, Finland,…

Naval assets from seven Allied nations and NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 are training maritime capabilities and combat proficiency in the Black Sea from May 7 to 13 2018, as part of Exercise Sea Shield. Some 21 military ships, 10 fighter aircrafts, a submarine, and 2,300 servicemen are taking part. Romanian-led exercise Sea Shield 2018 involves participants from the US, the UK, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Turkey, which participate with frigates, missile boats, corvettes and a destroyer. The exercise is based on a fictitious crisis response scenario. “By organising and…

During routine mine countermeasure training in the Black Sea on 7th February 2018, Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) ship, Turkish mine hunter TCG AKÇAY, discovered a sea mine from a previous conflict. The mine was discovered at 8 A.M. local time while TCG AKÇAY, under the command of Turkish Navy Lieutenant Commander Abdulla Yildiz, was using her mine hunting sonar to scan the sea bed and the water below her. The crew detected an object, which was thought to be a potential mine. TCG AKÇAY then used her…

On 11 December 2017, the Council adopted a decision establishing Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), less than a month after receiving a joint notification by member states of their intention to participate. The 25 member states participating in PESCO are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. On 13 November 2017, ministers from 23 member states signed a joint notification on the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and handed it over…